Teaching Cause and Effect with a Newsroom Classroom Transformation

 Cause and effect is an essential reading skill that our readers need in able to adequately and effectively comprehend.  It helps students understand how one event connects or leads to the next event.  I thought it would be so fun to give my cause and effect resource a little makeover with a fun newsroom theme.  Students will be reporters to report on the cause and effect relationships in the story.  They will cover what happened (THE EVENT) and what made that event happen (THE CAUSE).  These activities, anchor charts, and crafts will help you plan a mini room transformation for your students.  Get ready to transform your classroom into a Cause and Effect News Studio!

Cause and effect anchor charts, posters, activities, graphic organizers, and crafts!

As far as transforming your room goes, I am all for less is more in this instance.  You could cover their desk pods or tables with plastic tablecloths and lay the printable microphones on each student's spot.  I included a banner that you can print to hang at the front of your room.  You might want to make a backdrop up there, too, with bulletin board paper for when students do their reporting.  You could also move a piece of furniture or some desks to that area for reporters to sit.  I think it would be really cute if you dressed as a reporter and have students dress as one at the end of the unit for one final cause and effect news report.

Cause and effect anchor charts, posters, activities, graphic organizers, and crafts!

Cause and effect anchor charts, posters, activities, graphic organizers, and crafts!

I give instructions in the resource on how to print the anchor chart as a poster.  You can laminate this and use a dry erase marker on it when you go to model identifying cause and effect relationships in the text.  The posters can be printed and hung near your anchor chart for student reference.  

Cause and effect anchor charts, posters, activities, graphic organizers, and crafts!

For the opening activity, have students gather on the carpet.  Explain to them what a cause and effect are and that they will be reporting on different cause and effect relationships in texts.  Show them these picture cards all mixed up.  Have students help you match the causes and effects and display them on your board or in a pocket chart.  Model with the microphone how you might report on these events.  I always tell students to identify the effect first and then to find the cause.  I have found that this strategy is helpful for students.

Cause and effect anchor charts, posters, activities, graphic organizers, and crafts!

Cause and effect anchor charts, posters, activities, graphic organizers, and crafts!

You really can use any fictional story for cause and effect, but there are some texts that just lend themselves well to teaching this reading skill.  Some good ones include The Rain Came Down, A Bad Case of Stripes, any book by Doreen Cronin, Alexander and the No Good, Horrible, Very Bad Day, and any of the Laura Numeroff books.   Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs would be another good one, since it's about weather.  Fictional books about weather events would be great for the news reports!

For the first day, I would give each group one of these envelopes filled with the graphic organizers below.  These are normally used for cooperative groups or centers and each will have its own text.  I would actually read aloud one text for the whole class and then have students go prepare their news reports with their tables.  There are two graphic organizers included, the first only has one cause and effect relationship and the other has three.  You can choose what would be best for your students.  After identifying the cause and effect relationships have each group come up front to deliver their news report.  Have a discussion on whether or not students identified the same or a different relationship and explain that stories can have many different ones just like in real life.

Cause and effect anchor charts, posters, activities, graphic organizers, and crafts!

Use different texts each day so that students are exposed to more examples of cause and effect relationships.  I have included different crafts and graphic organizers below that you could use each day.  There are enough to even come back to cause and effect later in the year.  I always strive to give you lots of options so that you can meet the needs in your classroom.  The news report and microphone crafts are sure to get your students excited about cause and effect!  After making these, you can hang them in your room to add to your room transformation.  

Cause and effect anchor charts, posters, activities, graphic organizers, and crafts!

Cause and effect anchor charts, posters, activities, graphic organizers, and crafts!

Cause and effect anchor charts, posters, activities, graphic organizers, and crafts!

I tried to make these look like hats reporters would wear back in the day.  I think they would be so fun for your students to wear after one of your lessons!

Cause and effect anchor charts, posters, activities, graphic organizers, and crafts!


Cause and effect anchor charts, posters, activities, graphic organizers, and crafts!

Cause and effect anchor charts, posters, activities, graphic organizers, and crafts!

For exit tickets, you can use these printables or have students use their whiteboards.  I would display a short passage or story and have students identify a cause or effect.  This will let you know if they understand the vocabulary of cause and effect.

Cause and effect anchor charts, posters, activities, graphic organizers, and crafts!

I actually changed this badges after taking this photo to press passes for students to have access to your newsroom throughout the week.

Cause and effect anchor charts, posters, activities, graphic organizers, and crafts!

Give students these bookmarks to use during their independent reading time to apply the skill.

Cause and effect anchor charts, posters, activities, graphic organizers, and crafts!

I always include these book club templates and discussion cards in case you have book clubs meet each week like I used to do.  I miss them so much!  Students would review the skill on Friday while eating popcorn and discussing the text that day.

Cause and effect anchor charts, posters, activities, graphic organizers, and crafts!

I hope you love this resource as much as I do!  As I am updating all of my reading comprehension units, I am trying to add as many fun themes as possible.  Up next is updating my point of view unit with a fun 70s theme!  These themes are what keep me excited to teach and help aid in not being burnt out.  It doesn't take much to get students excited, so you can make a transformation as small or as big as you want.  My students would get excited just over the paper microphones! Ha!

You can check out the resource HERE or by clicking on any of the photos.  It is sold separately and in a BUNDLE.  If you already own it, be sure to download it again.  Thank you so much for reading!

Cause and effect anchor charts, posters, activities, graphic organizers, and crafts!

Reading comprehension anchor charts, posters, activities, graphic organizers, and crafts!































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